A Quest Concerning Understanding
by Yungicurus
Summary: Trainee Auror Billy Foster is sent on a dull mission to gain experience in the field. However, her chance to prove herself to her superiors becomes challenging. With luck, she is set to find out that there is more to being an Auror than meets the eye - and to not be fooled along the way. Complete.
1. I

**A QUEST CONCERNING UNDERSTANDING**

'Boring.'

Billy Foster was clear as ice, as she'd like to put it. Opposite of her sat Head Auror Gailbard. Was it smart, whatever she was doing? No. Did she do it anyway? Yes. She was Billy Foster.

A slow smile formed on Gailbard's face. 'So you think you're brave, eh?'

'No.'

Again, Billy didn't waste more words than necessary. Gailbard stood up, turned his back to hers and stared out of his window. He tilted his head to Billy, frowning.

'I was like you when I was younger. Adventurous, acting like I never knew that rules didn't exist.' Once again, he smiled. 'And maybe a bit of foulmouth.' He turned his body back to Billy and put his knuckles gently on his desk.

'Look, this task is fit for you. It may not be that spectular, however, you must realise Harry Potter didn't spend all his time out in the field.'

Billy felt inclined to say something for the first time. Gailbard put his hand up, preventing her mentally from talking.

'Auror work isn't exactly fighting all the time. We're called in for various opportunities. You have to be ambigiuous, too. Act like a Muggle among the Muggles and a Scotsmen among the Scots.' Gailbard smiled, proud of his comparison. Billy thought nothing of it. 'This is a good opportunity,' he continued, 'to prove what you're worth. It's one of those cases that musn't exactly be thrilling, but in the end has to be concluded satisfactorily. That alone is quite a challenge sometimes, even when it's boring. Do you understand?'

'Yes, sir,' nodded Billy. Yes, she did understand why and how. Then again, she didn't want to go. She wanted to be out in the fields, like Marjorie or Anvi, her two friends who both were Trainee Aurors, too. They had done stuff. They are doing stuff. Cool stuff, or, rather activities. What exactly she did not really know; Marjorie was currently tracing a lost book in Devon that contained sensitive information. Anvi, however, was really in the 'field'; diving in the lakes of Northern Ireland, searching for missing holy stones from the Hynna creatures. It's a long story. Gailbard had sensed her discontempt with her task from the start, but was convinced this was right for her. If he had to be entirely honest he rated Billy higher than her friends, but he knew that she was capricious at times. Therefore, she had to be nudged into the right path.

'Good.' Gailbard nodded, too, and gave Billy an envelope. 'This contains more specific information.' Billy took the envelope and left Gailbard's office. She knew where she was going.

Whilst walking along the Auror Office's corridors, Billy read the contents of the envelope carefully. It contained a map and several pieces of paper. Furthermore, one page revealed a seismographic graph. She focused on the graph. It was moving, so she assumed it wasn't a Muggle graph, but one from the Ministry of Magic. Whilst walking she figured out what it meant; the text on the y-axis said it was from Ashill, with very specific coordinates behind the town's name.

Gailbard's office was not far from the Auror office common room; Harry Potter's initiative to restructure the room with couches and floating bean bags had made the room an ideal spot to meet other Aurors or simply read, especially since a coffee machine had become available. A Muggle one, that is. The coffee was unlike anything she had ever tasted.

Coming from a small town in southern Scotland, Billy Foster always stood out. Firstly, she didn't speak with a Scottish accent. She was actually born in Stevenage and had lived there for quite some time before relocating to northern lands. It had landed her with a … well, different accent than most in her quiet Scottish town. Even the sheep spoke different. Hogwarts, however, was a diverse bunch of kids; she had always enjoyed her time there. She got good grades and was accepted as Trainee Auror. However, she had to leave the magnificent castle and relocate. She choose … Northern London. She initially settled for the same old town, but came back from that thought quite quickly. London's buzzing cosmopolitan atmosphere was very appealing to her.

But none of that for now. She had three hours to kill before she could Disapparate and start her mission. Well, that meant she was going to read. Bily checked her watch. Some time after 4 o'clock, it said. Most Aurors were either still working or home already, because the working day slowly came to an end. The common room was empty.

She settled herself in one of the floating bean bags and levitated a book from a bookshelf nearby. "Twelve Tricks to Detain a Dragon," the excessively glittering front said. She turned the book to its back, and read that it the book ought to be "an absolutely thrilling tale of how to get your favourite dragon in your own backyard – so that you're not only are glamoruos and admired, but also have a little fire in your life!". The author's picture was positioned in the bottom-left of the back and contained a blonde, glass wearing woman seductively moving a quill along her mouth. Billy read Rita Skeeter's bio, but couldn't really be bothered, in fact. She turned the book to the front cover again, when a figure approached in front of her.

'Nonsense, isn't it?' said the gentle voice.

Billy Foster looked up and almost had an heart attack. There he was, casually in front of him, while she held a book in her hand by Rita Skeeter. I hope he doesn't think that I like that author, thought Billy, while eyeing the figure in front of her shyly. Her I-don't-care attitude vanished instantly. She was overwhelmed.

Harry Potter didn't exactly prey on Billy Foster, but she was too immersed in reading the back cover of the book to notice him coming. He moved an other levitating bean bag closer with his wand and sat beside Billy. Hary smiled. Then, she remembered Harry had asked her a question.

'Yeah,' Billy answered coolly.

'I don't know why that book is even here,' said Harry. 'Can I have it for a minute?'

Billy gave the book to Harry, who inspected the front and the back cover of the book. He snorted.

'Have you seen it before?' asked Billy.

'No, I haven't, but I heard a lot about it from my friend Ronald.'

'What he'd say?' she asked, again.

'Well, I'm not gonna repeat a lot of what he said,' Harry smirked, 'but he didn't like it.' He gave the book back to Billy.

'Read the second last paragraph on the back cover,' he said.

Billy did so.

 _For this book, many specialists were consulted around the world, all who have countless years of experience in dragonry. With a foreword by the hottest bachelor of the British Isles, a member of the heroic Weasley family and duelist in the Battle of Hogwarts, Charlie Weasley._

Billy looked at Harry. 'Isn't Charlie Weasley one of the most renowned dragonryspecialists nowadays?'

'Exactly,' answered Harry. 'And that doesn't get mentioned anywhere. That's a thing Ron doesn't like. Furthermore, "duelist" at the Battle of Hogwarts is both an understatement and misinterpretation of what he actually was. But what's the most compelling and yet disturbing fact with this is that …' Suddenly, Harry coughed and laughed at the same time. Billy was unsure what to do, but Harry glanced at her and gestured that it was okay. '... Is that Charlie hasn't written anything for her.'

'What?'

'Not joking,' answered Harry, gesturing disbelief. 'I don't understand it either. Both Ron, Charlie, Charlie's parents and Hermione Granger have sent an owl to Rita Skeeter's editor requesting to take the book out of stock.'

Billy smiled. It was actually true what they said about Harry; he was, indeed, a really kind person. Humble, too.

'Well,' she said, feeling more comfortable, 'then I won't take any advice from this book.'

'It can't be that wrong,' said Harry, slowly getting up from his levitating bean bag. 'It should be along the lines of saying that, most importantly, you should never meet a dragon. And if you do so, you should run away very fast.' He smiled.

'Well, I must go. Nice to meet you…'

Oh, shit! Billy thought. She hadn't even introduced herself. Instantly, she sprung up and shook his head. In first instance Harry was taken aback by her impulsive action, but shook her hand back a second later.

'Billy Foster, nice to meet you.'

'... Harry Potter. Nice to have met you. I must go. You're staying here?'

'Yes, I've got my first mission in a couple hours,' Billy replied, looking at her watch.

'Oh, exciting,' said Harry teasingly. Billy let out a shy smile. 'Good luck,' he said as he put on his coat, 'and make sure you don't meet any dragons.'

'I won't,' said Billy. Harry nodded, turned around and walked away. Billy fell in her bean bag, somewhere between being flabbergasted about her experience meeting a Battle of Hogwart hero – _the_ hero – and dragons. As she had a couple hours more to kill, she decided to take a nap. Billy set an alarm on her Aurorwatch, closed her eyes and quietly, but swiftly, fell asleep.

She was only awoken by the beeping sound of her alarm some hours later. She opened her eyes, looked around and noticed that she was, again, alone. On her right arm someone had put a letter. Billy opened it. It was written in blue ink and directed to her.

 _You fell asleep. All the other Aurors saw it, but decided to let you rest. Looking really cute. Marjorie._

Billy had to laugh out loud. Bloody Marjorie, she thought. How emberassing it must've been! No doubt that she'd return the "favour". Maybe unleashing a fake baby dragon on her while she was asleep or some sort.

Speaking about dragons, she had to leave. The book was stil on her lap. Billy levitated it back on the book shelfs, got up and glanced at her watch. Almost eight o'clock. Time to go.

The Disapparation went without any problems. Ashill was her destination, a sleepy town. No doubt you had many of those in Norfolk. The information in the envelope reckoned it had no more than 1200 inhabitants, an old church by the name of St Wulfrick and a Muggle supermarket. Oh, and a pub. Where she, coincidentally, was heading to.

The Old Bell was a pub that could be found in any town in the British Isles. A photo was included in the envelope and showed a typically British pub in a typically British, 18th century stone house. The windows were tiny, but cute, thought Billy, but no doubt it would all be quite depressing in the end, with drunk people rolling over the floor and singing Muggle songs. Or, maybe, she just had a wrong view of Muggle pubs.

She tried to recall more information from the envelope. Lately magical activity was reported in The Old Bell. It was unclear for the Ministry where it was from. It showed up on their records and it was an odd ball out. Billy's task was to trace it. Preliminary check-ups from the Muggle Liasion Office had led up to nothing. It was up to Billy Foster to find out what it exactly was. The words of her Duelist Proffesor resounded in her ears: 'Good Aurors are shaped by their hands-on knowledge.'

So she would prove them right. In The Old Bell she would act like a Muggle, hoping to uncover some clues about possible magical activity in Ashill that could lead her to eliminate options and to, ultimately, come to a thorough conclusion. There can't be and there can be magical activity, thought Billy, and it was her job to make that decision.

For the occasion, she had dressed herself up in blue jeans and a black, long-sleeved hoodie. She decided to go casual. She wore her darkblonde hair in a bun and had put on the tinsiest bit of make-up. Oh, and she wore shoes. Billy had managed to create some kind of shoe that was hip for Muggles, but also was noticed by fellow wizards and witches as something distinctively witch-like. It was certainly enough to go undercover with.

Billy approached the pub and peeked inside, putting her wand deep inside her right pocket that she had magically preperated to hide the shape of her wand in her pants. The pub was quite packed, already. Most of them were watching Muggle TV. Sports was on, Billy saw. If she remembered it correctly, it was football. She exhaled and entered the pub.

Nobody noticed her upon entering. A few glanced, yes, but none of them really paid attention. She spotted a free barstool and sat. The barkeeper spotted her right away.

'Hello. How are ye'?' he said, with an accent distinct but understandable enough for Billy.

'I am fine, thank you,' Billy answered. 'How are you?'

'Not too bad,' he answered, 'nice weather and all.' The barkeeper seemed genuinly not too bad, Billy thought for a second. He was a handsome bloke, not too young, a bit balding, but alright.

She smiled at his question. 'Good. Can I have a …' she paused for a moment. Billy knew she had to order something, something Muggle-like, but she didn't know a lot of Muggle beers. It was getting awkward if it lasted too long, she quickly thought, so she had to improvise.

'... whatever you like. Beer, though,' she added.

The bartender smiled. 'Alright,' he said, and he took a green bottle from the fridge. Billy glanced at it.

'Heineken, it's nice.'

'Thanks,' said Billy. She paid the amount the bartender asked for and a bit more, giving him a little tip. She had learnt that in her own little, quiet Scottish town; bartenders liked to be given a tip as a sign of appreciation, especially when they had recommended something. Billy liked the beer. She watched the game. A player wearing yellow-green put a white ball in a square net by using his feet. Some guests in the pub cheered.

'Magical,' said a guest.

'He's really good,' said another guest.

Billy smirked. Magical. If Muggles only knew what it really meant. The game went on, it looked at bit like Quidditch, but then without brooms and flying. There seemed to be a black-wearing man in the middle of it all, blowing a whistle. She frowned.

'What's up?' said the bartender, who saw her scowl in the corner of his eye. He smiled at her.

'Oh, well,' replied Billy, who hadn't expected such a question, 'I'm just trying to understand what the black figure's role is in the game.'

'That's the referee,' the bartender explained. 'You're not familiar with the game, are you?'

'No, not really,' answered Billy, noticing that the bartender was teasing her. She didn't mind.

'More interested in other sports?'

'Yep.'

'Such as?' the bartender asked.

'Well, locally known sports,' said Billy, slightly hesitating. She tried her best to remembered a Muggle sport. 'Lacrosse, mostly.' The idea came from her nephew, who, once unmistakenly drunk, had brought home a poster with a guy dressed up like a warrior, only not having anything like a sword or wand in his hands. It was a Muggle lacrosseplayer, he explained. The family had been confused.

'Lacrosse?' The bartender was genuinly surprised. Another ball was in the net, now in the yellow-greens's. Some guests cursed. 'Where're you from?' he followed up, paying only a little attention to his clients.

'Well, it's complicated.'

'I see,' said the bartender. 'So what brings you here?'

'Magic,' she said bluntly.

The bartender laughed. A few guests turned around. He glanced at them, but didn't stop laughing.

'Magic?' It wasn't really a question, more of a remark to make sure he had heard her correctly. Billy held a stone-cold face.

'Yes,' she answered. 'There must be a lot of magic around here, in Ashill.'

The bartender shook his head. 'I don't think so.'

Billy was disappointed. She sensed that the bartender was holding something back.

'What's your name?' Billy suddenly asked.

The bartender looked up. He and Billy made eye contact. He stopped smiling.

'Derrick,' replied the bartender, not noticing Billy's little exploration.

'You've never encountered something magical,' stated Billy, before sipping on her beer.

'Well, not really,' countered the bartender, briefly glancing if any customers came over to the bar. 'I did go to the caves, though, when I was younger. It's quite scary when you're twelve.'

'Caves?' Billy liked where this was going.

'Yes. There are caves at the outer end of the villages, near the hills. They're man-made, but long and deep.'

'How deep?' asked Billy, fully interested in Derrick's answer. This could help her solve the unexplained magical activity – actually, it could solve _it_.

'I don't know. I've haven't been there in so many years.' Derrick took out his Muggle phone and looked at the time. He glanced at Billy. 'Don't plan to go back there, too.'

'Shame,' answered Billy swiftly. 'I'd like to see it.'

The bartender chuckled. 'Come on, now.' A guest approached the bar a few feet from Billy and Derrick walked away to serve him.

Billy was left alone. The pub was, still, quite full, but she couldn't get anything out of Derrick. The bartender had been in the caves, but didn't want to go back. She was quite annoyed at him, especially when, pressed on by Billy, he kept giving plain answers to open questions. However, thought Billy, he did say there were caves; this meant that there had to be an opening. One or more, she believed. Billy looked around in the pub. Everyone paid attention either to themselves or to the Muggle TV screens with their silly games; Derrick was bartending, washing glasses and was seeminlgy not interested anymore to talk with Billy. It was time for her to move on. In a last sip she drank the longneck Heineken, put it neatly on a coaster and left, putting her jacket on, the bar.

The air was cold and breezy as she stepped outside. Before her, darkness had covered itself as a thick layer around Ashill and beyond. Now, Billy thought to herself, she hadn't _exactly_ thought this through, but she'd get anywhere real soon by seeking people's help. No magic, she thought to herself, just help. She walked around for a few minutes, down two or three little streets near the Old Bell, all too sleepy to have anyone walking around. Billy observered various cars parked in the driveways, one or two remarkably enough with their rear lights still on, and made her way through a neatly trimmed, small park to the St Wulfrick church. A mass seemingly just ended as people walked out of the two massive, oak wooden doors. Billy glanced at the tower's clock, high above the entrance, to check for time. 10:15 pm was, she thought, even for Muggles a late hour.

'Magnificent, isn't it?'

Billy turned her head sideways and saw a women standing beside her. She had a dog with her.

'I think so,' said Billy, inspecting both the woman and the dog.

'I don't like the people in the church that much,' said the woman, of whom Billy more thought to be a girl than a woman – she was an adolescent, so technically something in between.

'Why?' asked Billy. She glanced at the people leaving the church. Upon closer inspection, they were carrying handbags in various sizes.

'They're practicing for their performance coming Saturday. Coming from all over the region, they gather and play in the county's orchestra.' The girl sniffed. 'They think they're the best from the best.'

'.. And they're not,' added Billy, slowing a slight smile. A gust of wind swept past the trees. Bats moved seemingly quiet from one place to another. The dog barked.

'Sssh, Colonel,' the woman spoke to the dog. Colonel kept barking.

Billy inspected the girl a little bit more. Her black curls were elegantly packed in a bun. She was wearing a warm, red hoodie with the inscription 'Motherf*cker' on it, blue, ripped jeans and black sneakers.

'What's your name?' said the girl.

'Billy.'

'Where you from?'

'Scotland,' answered Billy, doubting whether she exactly should say where.

'Oh. Scotland?' said the girl. Billy was not sure whether it was a question or a statement.

'Yeah, Scotland.'

'Then what you're doing in Ashill?'

Billy had expected this question.

'Was visiting a production location of my company nearby for work. Came across a pub when working here, and thought it'd be good to stop for a quick drink.' She had practiced her lie many times in her head. It came out perfectly.

The girl's eyes frowned. 'Girl,' she said, 'the people in the Old Bell are all a bunch of wankers.'

Billy laughed. Then, it seemed Colonel had found the courage to approach Billy and started sniffing her feet and legs carefully.

'This is Colonel, right?' she said while trying to pet him.

'Yes,' said the girl. 'Want to walk with me?' Colonel barked.

'Okay,' said Billy. She glanced at the girl.

'I'm Aisha, by the way.'

Billy smiled. 'I was just about to ask.'

They walked past the church, setting their steps on the narrow pavement. Orange streetlights shone above their heads. As they passed the old brick walls, tall trees with low-hanging leaves and, gradually more, farmlands with no view. Aisha started to enquire about Billy's life.

'Colonel is a young labradoodle,' Aisha suddenly said out of nowhere. 'So what brings you here at night?' An unrelated question followed. Billy didn't really care, she liked the walk and liked looking at Colonel, who merely seemed interested in the pavement and certain scents at trees' roots.

'I wanted to go to the caves,' said Billy. She glanced at Aisha, who frowned.

'Caves?'

'Yes,' said Billy. 'I did realize nobody goes there, though.'

Aisha stopped walking. Colonel didn't care and went on.

'Nobody goes to the caves. It's nothing, just... bats,' she said and resumed walking.

'Oh,' said Billy. 'I spoke to the bartender at The Old Bell and he said he went there a few times when he was young.'

Aisha chuckled. 'Yeah, sure he went and he slaid some skeleton knights on the way, too, Was it Derrick?'

'Yes,' said Billy. 'How did you know?'

'Just a random guess,' responded Aisha, winking. Her eyes shone strong when passing under the orange streetlights.

Aisha cleared her throat. 'We can go there if you like. It's not much of a detour from my home. Colonel likes bats, too. Anything he can bark to, really.'

'Yes!' said Billy, a little too excited. Her plan.. seemed to work? How fortunate she was... and how strange. Did she really have that many social skills? Or was she just that damn lucky? Last time she drank something, she was sure it wasn't Veritaserum.

'You're excited,' noted Aisha.

'Oh, well,' answered Billy nonchalantly. 'I like adventure.'

The time needed to go to the caves was filled with chit-chatting about their lives. Aisha appeared to spend time with her parents, as she had taken a quick leave from studying some Muggle study in Norfolk. Billy made up her own life and said she had just started working for a company. Billy asked why Aisha was walking alone at night. Aisha assured it her it was safe; the only scary thing she had ever encountered on her evening walks near Ashill was a lost fox. Billy chuckled. She had seen scarier things than that.

It didn't matter. After all, it wasn't a contest. Billy and Aisha arrived at the entrance of the caves. The road to it was seemingly paved in the past; now, it only seemed a mixture of dirt and a stones who lay scattered in the dirt, waiting for someone to pick them up. Billy did not. She stared into the darkness of the caves. The access was a wide and relatively tall corridor in a hill with numerous bushes and trees surrounding it. Billy glanced at Aisha, who stood beside her. Colonel was dead silent, too. Billy thought he was waiting for bats.

'It's quiet,' said Billy after a few seconds of silence.

'It is.'

Suddenly, Billy walked forward and stepped into the darkness. Aisha remained behind. She was staring into the obscurity, just like Billy had done moments before.

'What are you doi-?'

Aisha tried, but was silenced by a light in the tunnel. The light appeared to be floating in the darkness, almost, until Aisha saw Billy's face in the light casted by its source.

'Come.'

Billy's words echoed through the cave. Aisha hastily stepped forward. Colonel looked up to her, as if he was doubting whether her decision was the right thing to do.

Aisha slowly walked forward to the bundle of light. Billy's face was lit up.

'What is that?' said Aisha, coming to an inch or so from Billy. Colonel grumbled.

'Doesn't matter. Let's go.' Billy exchanged glances with Aisha and continued walking into the tunnel. It all must seem very strange, thought Billly, but it'd be best not to explain much at this very moment. It'd take hours to explain everything to Aisha and even then she would understand half, let alone the repercussions from her actions. Billy looked over her shoulder. She could see the shape of Aisha standing at the same spot where she stayed before.

'I'm not coming,' said Aisha. Her voice was higher and echoed hauntingly through the tunnel. Billy walked back and came face to face with Aisha.

'It's too much for me to explain right now,' she said, 'but I need you, Aisha, because you're familiar with these tunnels, right?'

'I-I am,' replied Aisha. Her lower lip shivered.

Billy grabbed Aisha's hand and squeezed it tight. She looked into her eyes.

'Trust me. Please.'

Aisha nodded. 'Okay.'

Billy admired Aisha. If she'd be a Muggle she'd have a hard time trusting a stranger, too, she thought, let alone wandering alongside one into a tunnel covered in darkness.

Aisha and Billy started walking. This time Aisha followed. Her steps were bleak compared to Billy's, but she was walking. Staring intensely at Billy's wand, she seemed to have a particular hard time understanding what was happening at the moment and, more specifically, what Billy was holding.

'What's that?'

'It's a wand.'

'What?'

'A wand,' replied Billy. 'It's a device.'

'For?' said Aisha, switching her focus between Billy and the tip of the wand. Its light still shone strongly. The walls were limestone, Billy supposed, compared with batches of dirtstone every now and then.

Billy looked at Aisha and stopped walking. Aisha stopped, too.

'Nox.' As Billy finished the word, the light at the tip of her wand went out. Aisha shrieked and Colonel was scruffing around, seemingly panicked by the instant darkness. Billy didn't expect such a heavy reaction, so she silently made a light bundle sprang from the tip of her wand again. She found Aisha against the wall. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was open.

'What-oh my god-' gulped Aisha, 'are-are you?'

'A story for later,' answered Billy. 'I am nothing bad. I'll leave the light on for now.'

Aisha regained her composure, shortly kneeling and petting Colonel on the head. She took a few steps and walked further into the tunnel. Colonel followed her lead as Aisha pulled the lead closer to her. She looked at Billy. 'You better tell me at the end.'

Billy felt a sense of relief. She caught up with Aisha, who rapidly started explaining the caves.

'They're very simply, actually. It's a long tunnel from one side to another, with a bend in between. In the bend a few holes were made which lead to chambers. The chambers are roughly four by four feet, so very small. As a kid, you can fit in,' Aisha assured Billy, 'or as … whatever you are.'

Billy smiled. Meanwhile, she carefully checked the tunnel in front of them and, sometimes, behind.

'Why're you turning your head?' Aisha's voice echoed through the tunnels, followed by a swift silence Billy didn't refute. Billy wasn't gonna tell her why. She also wasn't exactly sure why she did it, either. She just.. wanted to.

Aisha and Billy made it to the bend. It was bigger than she expected. It was a long bend, not very curvy, which made it impossible to see what came exactly in their way. Billy glanced at Colonel, who was deftly putting his paws in the rough dirt without making considerable sound.

Suddenly, Colonel pricked his ears up. He rapidly lifted his head, as if he was locating the source of any possible noise.

'What's up with Colonel?' said Billy. Aisha glanced at her dog and shrugged her shoulders. 'Dunno. Probably bats. Barking material.'

Billy wasn't sure about that. As the trio walked further, she noted that there was light coming from their left hand side. They both couldn't see where exactly that light source was coming from. Billy looked briefly at Aisha and gestured her to halt. She held her wand in her right hand and touched the left side of the tunnel with her left hand and approached the source of light cautiously. 'Nox,' she said, as the light source from her wand evaded. Aisha and Colonel didn't say or bark a thing and, if they did, Billy wouldn't have time for it. She walked to the right hand side of the tunnel, grasping her wand firmly in both hands. And yes, a few feet from her was the origin of the brightness in the tunnel: a huge, seemingly carved out hole in the wall. Billy stopped and looked up. The hole was, safe to say, massive. Bigger than the cave entrance and the tunnel itself, it was no wonder that she and Aisha saw light glooming in it from so far away. Carefully, she snipped back to the left hand side of the tunnel and finally reached the opening. Billy took a slow peek instead, but immediately drew back, gasped and put her hand in front of her mouth.

'Hey!'

A soft voice came from her right.

'Are you alright?'

It was Aisha. Slowly, she had crawled up behind Billy and placed her adjacent to her, Colonel in her arms, whose mouth Aisha had shut with her right hand. She placed her left hand on Billy's right shoulder. Billy still put her hand in front of her mouth. Her pupils moved to the right and she bowed her head slowly. Gentily, she removed her hand from her mouth and whispered. 'Bigger room.'

' _Bigger_... room?' Aisha's voice drifted past the tunnel's walls. Billy nodded again and made an attempt to crawl up. 'Stop,' said Aisha firmly, grabbing her by the arm. 'If you go, I go to.' She let her hand loose and Billy stopped for a moment, then got up and entered the hole.

Instantly she and Aisha looked up to find the ceiling. It was a dozen feet or so above their heads. Upon further inspection, they found that the chamber they had entered was even so wide, and what was more, it was deep, too; stratified dirt and stone led to a open area. The source of the light was there, too. A big fire was clearly visible. On the left and the right were rocks in colours of dirt and silvery blue. Aisha and Colonel walked past big columns of pilled up dirtstone and met Billy in the area just before the fire. Having to take a few steps to walk around the fire, Billy again looked up to the ceiling and saw darkness between the top of the dirtstone chamber.

'Is that the sky?' Billy said as she pointed upwards. Aisha and she stared towards the ceiling. Colonel barked and pulled Aisha's leash backwards. 'Hey!' she shouted to Colonel, but immediately shrieked after as she felt the ground shaking. Billy looked to the right of her and saw that the silvery rocks were moving. A huge figure made its way from under the dirt stone. The silvery rocks moved, too, and when they had shaken off some dirt turned even brighter silvery blue. It was the tail. The wings were hidden under another pile of dirt. The blue head was carefully exposed to brisk chamber air as its white eyes looked around the chamber and met Billy's.

'Shit,' Billy blurted out. She was eye to eye with a dragon.


	2. II

Immediately Billy turned around. Aisha and Colonel were standing behind her, half-grasping the danger of the situation. Billy didn't think twice. She raised her wand, swished and flicked and rapidly levitated Aisha, who in the meantime had grasped Colonel in her arms, back in the tunnel from which they came. Billy glanced back again. The dragon shook its dirt from its back, the tail hitting the wall of the chamber, scattering several rocks across the room. It had spotted Billy.

'Reducto!' she shouted, pointed towards the roof directly above the entrance. A flash of light thundered from her wand and a big pile of stone, dirt and rocks fell down covering the whole entrance. Billy had no time to admire her spellwork, as she felt the mini earthquakes caused by the dragon steps. She spotted the nearest column of dirtstone and leaped herself forward to reach cover in time.

A heatwave followed. Blue jets of fire were streaming past her. Billy knew from her time at Hogwarts that Swedish Snort-Stouts were the most dangerous dragons to encounter. Not only was their blue fire extremely hot, they also were known for the agile flying abilities. She looked up and inspected the roof of the chamber. It was still intact, although a small stream of water came down a few feet near her. Billy stood up, grasped her wand tightly and closed her eyes. If she wanted to stand a chance to live, or, in any case, move from one column to another to make it out alive, this was her chance. She directed the stream of water very carefully, shaping it into a sphere. It was right in front of her, out of sight for the dragon. He had stood still since his first spit of flame. Billy glanced past the column in the direction of the dragon. Instantly, a blaze of fire was directed at her, for which she oould cover herself behind the column just in time. She managed the keep the sphere of water afloat in front of her, closed her eyes as she prayed for luck and sweeped the sphere of water past the column in the direction of the dragon as soon as he stopped spitting fire.

But rather than hitting the dragon, it missed it. The sphere of water splashed against the back wall of the chamber, imploded and came down as a wave of water, covering the whole back floor. The fire resisted extinghuisment, but had to concede. As a result, the whole room turned black. Billy grabbed her chance and started running across the room. She had seen a low mound in the ground near the left wall which gave her a chance to direct spells at the dragon properly. Finding the elevation and hoisting herself up in careful fashion, she had no choice but to wait.

The dragon was startled by the blackness. Billy heard it walking around, snorting and vigorously stepping, giving her an opportunity to locate him by echo. When Billy thought that the dragon was the furthest away, she stretched her arm and pointed the arm in its presumed direction. 'Lumos Solem', she incanted. A jet of yellow sunlight blazed across the room and struck the dragon in the right side of his body. The dragon, dazed by the light and the warmth, moaned loudly. In the brief moment of visibility, she directly shouted 'Vincula Magnum'. Consequently, big chains sweepedthrough the air and as Billy pointed her wand from the dragon to the wall, her spell cast a magical chain around the dragon's neck and back legs which were tied to the back wall. Then again it became pitch-dark. Billy fell on her knees and breathed heavily. She was first and foremost exhausted by having to levitate Aisha and Colonel to safety. It had cost her a lot of energy. From hearing the dragon rumbling the chains Billy supposed she was safe from him. However, it started to fire flames in random directions, enraged by its sudden confinement. She looked at the dragon, tried to get up but repeatedly had to duck for the itsblazes of fire. Billy had to jump of the mound and landed a few feet down. Landing on her back she groaned in pain, but tried to compose herself and settled to take cover behind a pile of stones close to the back wall of the chamber. The dragon was still perilously blazing fire, shaking his chains and roaring as dragons do.

She tried to keep her breath quiet. Billy wanted to flee, to get rid of the rubbish which she had formed to safekeep Aisha and Colonel, who could be anywhere by now – she tried not to think about it too much – but leaving this chamber she could not. There was a Swedish Snort-Stout on British territory, dangerously close to Muggles, and without permission from whoever or any knowledge! On the bright side, she had found out where the signs of magical activity where coming from. This chamber, this cave... a dragon blazing fire ought to be visible at the Ministry of Magic, Billy thought. Or not.

Suddenly, she was alarmed by the debris in front of the entrance. It was moving and with a loud bang overwhelmed Billy with a sensation of fear. Her senses where sharpened. She moved closer to the pile of stones, peaking over them with the utmost caution. The debris was scattered across the front part of the chamber. Although the room was still covered in darkness – except for a few rays of moonshine through the open holes at the top of the chamber – light appeared in the tunnel. A figure stepped into the chamber, holding a bundle of light in front of him that Billy recognised as one at the tip of a wand. A wizard or witch had just entered the room. She could see the wizard or witch's face – illuminated by the Lumos charm – and identified a male face. The wizard scanned the room conscientiously, checking both sides. Most curiously, the wizard stepped to the back of the room immediately. The dragon had sensed his approach since the blast and had not made a sound since. Billy's view of the wizard got obstructed by a dirtstone column, so she decided to move to the nearest column on the wizard's left – without him taking notice, that was. She overheard his voice while moving.

'Who did this to you?'

Billy moved swiftly from one column to another. She tried to get a glimpse of the wizard, but only saw him from behind. He was inspecting the chains. The dragon moaned softly.

'What happened then?'

Again, she managed to make no sound when she ended at the pile of dirt stones. Billy had an excellent view on the wizard and the dragon. He talked to the dragon like he was in a conversation with it; something about him, perhaps his arrogance, started to annoy her – and she hadn't even spoken to the guy.

The wizard inspected the marks left by the beam Billy casted just before she chained the dragon to the wall. He made noises of disgruntlement.

'Merlin's beard,' he said as she kneeled and inspected it more closely. Upon touching the mark the dragon shivered and complained loudly, to which he backed off. He got up and walked to the dragon's head, caressing it with tenderness. 'I'll free you of these chains.'

Billy felt all the muscles in her body contracting. She couldn't let that happen. The dragon had to stay chained and she had to notify the particular department at the Ministry of Magic. Oh, and let's not forget, she needed to speak to this guy and ask him some important questions. She stood up, slowly, but the wizard had already begun to use the Reducto curse directed to the places on the wall where end of the chain had been put. It took him a few tries to free one. Another chain came lose more clearly. He only needed to free two or one, and the dragon was free. What he would do after that, she did not know. Billy's anger boiled up and she made the choice not to wait anymore. She stepped away from her hiding spot.

'Stop what you're doing – right now. Her wand was pointed at his back. The wizard slowly titled his head, his eyes towards the ground.

'Alright.' His voice was collected. Suddenly, a rapid movement and a bang occurred. Billy found herself on the ground, warped by the power of a wand flick. After battling the dizyness for a few seconds, she saw that the wizard was hastily unchaining the dragon. She was lying down on the ground five or six feet from where she just was. The wizard looked at her with a bitter, apologising face as he started removing the last chain from the Swedish Snort-Stout.

'I'm sorry,' he said. 'But this dragon is very precious to me and cannot fall in the wrong hands.' Billy did not have the clarity in her head to react properly, She didn't need to. The wizard was interrupted by his chainbreaking. Rocks and stones were falling from the roof of the chamber, directed at the wizard and the dragon. The latter became unrestless, urging the wizard to calm the dragon down whilst simultaneously trying to locate where the rocks came from.

'You fucking fool!'

Billy's giddiness faded as she could recognise the voice. It was Aisha. She looked up and saw, through holes in the top of the chamber, that it was she who was throwing the rocks down.

The wizard had seen it as well. He directed his wand at Aisha and was ready to blast the roof. It had gone unnoticed to him that Billy came to her senes again. He didn't expect the thundering sound of him clattering to the ground either as she cast a perfect Unconscious Blast-Hex. Billy raced to the dragon, instinctively started petting it on the head to keep it calm and turned back to face the wizard. He was laying on the ground, his wand loose in his hand. Billy grabbed his wand and looked at him, breathing heavily because of her efforts.

'Are you OK?' said the hollow voice of Aisha. Billy glanced at her and displayed at a thumbs up. Aisha nodded and Billy saw a brief glimpse of Colonel too, who was undoubtly on a leash and close to Aisha. Billy focused on the wizard again. His loose clothes made him appear to be a thief, a beggar of some sorts. But which beggar would come across a Swedish Snort-Stout, let alone be able to hind it in a plane sight in a chamber near a pub in Ashill? Her mind got dizzy thinking about this. She kneeled besides the wizard, who, conventiently, started to regain consciousness. He gruntled some words before opening his eyes fully and staring in the face of Billy Foster, Auror-To-Be.

'You're arrested on the grounds of multiple violations of the Magical Law of the Ministry of Magic of the United Kingdom and Ireland, which include but is not limited to hexing an Auror, illegally concealing a XXXX-class dragon from the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, endaring Muggles and many more.'

The wizard was looking at Billy, silently inspecting her from top to toe.

'It was just a mistake.' He spoke low and softly.

'Sorry?' Billy had still pointed her wand at him.

'It was just a mistake,' the wizard said, louder this time. 'I didn't mean to.'

'What do you mean "I didn't mean to"?'

'I just had no choice but to hide it here.'

'Explain.' Billy's voice was raised.

The wizard wanted to crawl up, but Billy urged him to stay on the ground, facing him. The dragon was remarkably quiet.

'I am Gregory McCormack, a Magizoologist, you see. I encountered this dragon while doing field work in Svalbard, North Sea, where he was wounded and could not fly home. He was totally isolated and had not seen any other members of his species in years. I found him on a cliff, malnourished and thirsty. The expidition which brought me to Svalbard was one I did alone, so I decided to take care of the dragon until it could fly again. I told myself I'd take it to a safe home.'

'Yet he is here.'

'I had no choice. We left a couple of weeks ago, but he quickly became tired, and by chance I stumbled upon this cave. I enlarged it, of course, because it was small and dark, but it was the best I could do for him,' said McCormack, 'and I made a way out through the tunnel, not knowing some day a witch would be walking in.'

'Why keep him here for so long?'

'Because he was tired! I had fed him plenty yesterday, he just needed to sleep.'

'Alright,' said Billy. 'So what do I do with you?'

'Well,' spoke McCormack, 'you might want to let me go.'

Billy thought of that, too, if there was any chance she could've gotten away with it. In all seriousness, a loose dragon on the British Isles was a serious breach of security and safety. It was clear to her that not notifying her superiors and letting a dragon fly away, despite it quickly not being on British soil anymore, would cause her to be demoted, or even worse. On the other hand, she thought when glancing at the puzzling look McCormack gave her, he had gotten a dragon all the way from Svalbard here unseen.

'How did you do it?' Billy said, still having her wand pointed at him.

'Doing what?'

'Getting a Swedish Snort-Stout here without anyone noticing.'

'It's not that hard,' replied McCormack. 'You just avoid crowded places, lie low on sunrise and fly with sunset.'

Billy retracted her wand and put it in her pocket. McCormack crawled up, looking uneasy.

'I don't know what to do with you,' said Billy. Her hands were on her hips as she pursed her lips.

'Didn't you just say you were going to arrest me?'

Billy snorted. 'Yeah. But, I don't see how I can arrest you and then, well, let the dragon stay here. I mean, I never handled one before, you have, it'd be better if you just took it to a safe place – for him.'

'I agree,' said McCormack, walking towards the dragon. He petted him softly, and crawled on his back. 'Tell your friend to get away,' he continued, pointing at the roof. Billy looked up and saw no eyes staring directly at her. She was wondering where they could've been. At that moment, she realised something else: the chamber couldn't be directly under the pub, as the holes in the top of the chamber indicated directly above them was land and air. Quickly she glanced around and realised that the Ministry's traces most probably must've come from there.

Meanwhile, McCormack slowly transformed the room by closing the gap in the wall where Billy had entered with her. 'How do I go out?' she said, looking at McCormack. 'With me,' he answered, gesturing her to sit behind her on the dragon. Billy did as instructed, although a bit hesitant when climbing upon the back of the dragon, and McCormack directed the dragon to buoyantly fly up. They did so, and the dragon expanded his wings in the most careful manner, making sure to touch no wall or column. He flew near the roof. One of the holes was bigger than Billy expected; she'd pass through it without any problems. McCormack saw her glancing at it and flew towards it, almost mathematically-like, so that Billy could just raise herself onto the rocks above the cave. Uncomfortably, she glimpsed at McCormack. He nodded, and Billy pulled herself up. Her attempt was succesful, but she didn't have time to admire this. Swiftly she rolled over, away from the holes, in the rocks, and started sprinting away, hoping to make it away in time before McCormack would implode the roof to leave with the Swedish Snort-Stout.

The blast came no later than expected. Billy had no time to look around; she heard the ground swooshing away. When reaching a lower side of the grassland, she finally found the courage to look over her shoulder. She saw that he had imploded the roof of the cave, making a low-grunting noise. The back of the Old Bell was visible in the background, not far away from where they were. She hoped the Muggles wouldn't notice. McCormack was flying above the crumbled ground, his Swedish Snort-Stout proudly flying. She could barely make out the contours of his face, but Billy supposed he was smiling. He drew closer.

'Well, thank you, madam,' McCormack said. 'I might hope we encounter each other soon, be it in less tense fashion.' Billy looked at him, and between the sounds of the dragon elegantly swinging his wings she replied. 'Yes, I hope so, too.' She stared at him. McCormack nodded as a sign that he had understood her, made a half-bow and disappeared swiftly into the darkness, leaving Billy behind in the grasslands just outside Ashill.

She stood there, engulfed in feelings of guilt and confusedness, mainly confusedness. How was she to explain this to her peers, let alone her superiors? Gailbard, Potter, what would they say? She didn't know. Billy started walking to Ashill itself, but was distracted by flashlights from behind. Muggles, she thought, from the pub who were wondering about the sound. Quickly she scanned the surroundings, thinking about Aisha and Colonel for a brief moment, but thought what she was doing was for the best, ran away – and Disapparated.

A quiet swoosh in an alley of Lansfield Avenue followed. The night in this London suburb was quiet and as Billy made her way to her small apartment, the trees rustled small gusts of wind in her air to calm her down. She was upset. Was she not instructed to complete this mission? What would happen now? Her wand was still in her hand. She put it in her pocket, whilst simultaneously grabbing her keys and opening the door. It was only then that she heard the sounds behind her. She turned around around and saw an owl on her small front porch, carrying a letter. It turned his head 20 degrees and back before the dropping the letter and leaving. Billy grabbed it and turned it to its backside. She opened it and found a hastily scribbled note.

 _Billy,_

 _Rumors are that there's an explosion or implosion – reports are not clear – near Ashill. Hope you're okay. Meet me as soon as you can in the morning at the Ministry. You can explain what happened. Hope everything went well._

 _Gailbard_

Billy folded the note in half and entered her appartment. In the morning she would visit Gailbard, she thought, and she'd explain him everything. And at the end, he would dismiss her from her training. At least, that was the lightest punishment she could think of. Dawn came soon. Billy slept like an angel, she didn't know why – perhaps she was exhausted, maybe she had made peace with herself that she tried – but she left her appartment around quarter past eight and arrived on time at the Ministry, wearing tidy clothes and combing her hair rebelliously long past her shoulders. If she were to go out, she better do it in a for her comfortable way.

The road to Gailbard's office was long. She walked past his secretary on the way, Ms Husk – who merely nodded – and knocked on his door. Her heart bounced in her throat.

'Yes?' said a deep voice on the other side of the door.

'It's Foster. You wanted to see me.'

A silence followed.

'I can't see you right now,' said Gailbard. 'Give me fifteen minutes or so and come back.'

Billy lowered her head and glanced past her at Ms Husk, who let out a wry smile. Billy walked back into the long hallway and set to sit on a comfortable chair a few floors below, waiting to able to enter. It seemed like a very long time and when the time was near to try again, Billy had to fight all the urge to just not leave. Eventually, she persuaded herself to at least step into the hallway directly leading to Gailbard's office, so that she could tell herself that she had at least tried to speak to him. Surprisingly, when she entered the hallway she immediately saw Gailbard standing in the doorpost, emotionless glancing at Billy.

'Come in, Billy,' he said, and disappeared in his big office.

Cautiously Billy set her last steps in the Auror Office and the steps to her doom. The room was like Gailbard's office always was, tidy, and did not have many chairs but three for visitors and one for himself. To her surprise, two of these visitors' chairs were filled. One by a man, unmistakenbly a man, and a woman, who had black hair. Suddenly, it dawned on Billy that she found herself in uncharted territory. Gailbard was sitting in his chair facing her, the woman and the man turned their heads to her, remorsefully smiling.

Billy stumbled back, gasped as she had done the night before, and let out a short but firm squeak.

'I am sorry,' said the woman.

'You've done well,' said the man.

Gailbard let out a wry smile, although wry, it was more of a proud smile, something along those lines. Billy just stood there, unable to grasp the complexity of the situation, and Gailbard was eager to clarify.

'We always test the ability of our Trainee Aurors,' he began. 'They have to be dedicated, competent, trustworthy and resourceful. According to these employees here, you ticked all those boxes.' He pointed at the woman. 'You know her as Aisha, but she's in fact Henrettia Gobbard, working at the Department for the Regulation of Magical Creatures. She had a pretty good cover, you might say.' Gobbard smiled, exchanging a quick glance with the man, before standing up and shaking hands with Billy. Still affected by the reveal, Billy drowsily shook hands back and looked at her face. Gobbard let go and Gailbard pointed at the man, who Billy recognised as McCormack.

'John Niles-Oxland is undoubtly one of the most able dragonfliers we Aurors have here, but I am confident that he also made a fine display in acting, portraying a lost Magizoologist with a dragon, being on the loose.'

'Hi,' said John. Billy came closer and John gestured her to sit.

'So it was all fake?' Billy said.

'Eh, the dragon wasn't,' Niles-Oxland said coolly. 'It was really there.'

'In a controlled enviroment,' Gailbard remarked. 'We monitored the situation the entire time.' He directed his look at Billy. 'You might think we have upset you and we have done so, we regret it very dearly. However, we've noticed that there is no better way than to assess the quality of an Auror-to-be than a real-life experiment. You've had one and your friends had one, too. We can look at your marks, challenge you here at the Ministry, but out there, in the field, is where you really learn it.'

'But I let him go,' Billy answered to no one in particular. She glanced at Niles-Oxland. 'Does this mean I'm sacked?'

'You're never directly sacked in this stage,' said Gailbard, 'but for now, I can say that you've done pretty well. Yes, you let him go, but not without reason and thorough question, let alone proper use of magic.'

'Those were pretty good spells you flew at me,' Niles-Oxland said, smiling. Gobbard chuckled.

'Henrietta was there too, Billy, don't you worry about her. She saw everything, was actually the assessor of this task and – as far as I know – is pretty satisfied with what she's seen.'

Gobbard smiled and Billy was still unsure whether this was all a joke or it wasn't – oh, it better not be, she thought.

'So what now?' Billy's words echoed through Gailbard's office, leaving her to watch the Head Auror with a nervous glance.

'You're free. You're off for more than a week. We'll expect you here again on Monday. For now, relax, we'll get back to you soon about the results and everything beyond that. Just make up your mind, meet your friends and do something fun.'

With those words, Billy was dismissed from Gailbard's office, but not before shaking hands with him and, albeit awkwardly, exchanging hugs with Gobbard and Niles-Oxland.

Her legs were shaking as she made her way back to the Aurors' common room. She got herself a coffee from the Muggle coffee machine and found herself a comfortable place near a furnace in the cosy room. She drank her coffee and stared dully in front of her. Her attention was caught by a shadow standing in besides her. The dark orange light of the fire shone on his body.

'Hi,' Harry Potter said and sat beside her, again. Billy greeted back, not fully realizing that she was sheepisly smiling to nobody in particular, and looked at Harry.

'Is anything up?' he said.

'You'll never know what I met yesterday,' Billy said gleefully.


End file.
